Daniel Radcliffe

The film stars Daniel Radcliffe in a career-redefining performance as the college-age Ginsberg; casting director Laura Rosenthal filled the screen around him with unfamiliar faces and used the faces of familiar actors in unfamiliar ways.

Every artsy young man goes through his Beat period—the moment when he discovers the work of Allen Ginsberg and his fellow travelers, then experiences epiphany. But Daniel Radcliffe might be the only young man whose Beat period was also research for a movie role.

Daniel Radcliffe’s screen test was the beginning of a legacy that would expand into eight films (nine if you include the upcoming Eddie Redmayne–starring prequel, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”) and a $15 billion-dollar franchise.